"Husbands?" Rieka asked out loud. Weren't they all to marry one wolf God? What did Gunnolf mean when he said 'husbands'? "I thought we were marrying the great wolf God, Ostrythe."
Gunnolf raised his hand to silence her. "All will be answered in due time by someone more qualified than myself. Come now, we must be off or we'll be late."
The three girls followed the strange gatekeeper down the allure of the castle to a large square building illuminated with wickless candles. Rieka had never seen such torches before. The sign above the building read 'West Forest Station'. She had no idea what a station was, but she shrugged and continued to follow Gunnolf inside. Inside the room was covered with lines of the strange wickless candles surrounded by glass. It seemed to be one giant room with numerous benches sitting in the middle of the floor. On each end of the room were huge archways that led down dark tunnels and a trench covered with long metal poles.
"What are we doing here?" Elaine cried, breaking herself away from the still sniffling Ivy.
"We're waiting for the train," Gunnolf said matter-of-factly as he frowned at the opposite tunnel. "Blasted thing always shows up late. What's the point of a schedule if you never follow it?"
"Train?" Rieka asked.
"Argh! Why do I always have to explain?" he huffed. "Look, it's like a large metal wagon that goes three times faster than a whole team of horses. It'll take us to the Temple of Udolph."
As much as she burned with more questions for Gunnolf, Rieka chose to remain silent. He already seemed annoyed by all of their questions and she wasn't sure how he'd react if he got more annoyed. Everything about this place was nothing like she'd been taught as a child. She expected a castle shining in the forest with Ostrythe waiting for them at the gate, bathed in moonlight. In all her imaginings she never considered other people would be in his kingdom.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep loud whistle echoing down the far tunnel. The ground shook as a huge black metal box on wheels came to a halt in front of them. A door opened in the machine and Gunnolf urged them forward. They all looked warily at the giant metal box but hesitantly walked inside. The box was empty except for benches that lined both walls of the machine. She realized now that it actually had windows that somehow seemed invisible from the outside. Now that she was inside the machine she could see out perfectly.
"So this is a...trin?" Rieka asked, trying to remember the word Gunnolf had used.
"Train," he clarified. "It will take us to the place where your marriage ceremony will take place.
With a quick jerk that sent them all except Gunnolf toppling to the side, the machine began to race forward. They were inside the dark tunnel for only a minute before it disappeared and revealed the city she'd seen from atop the castle wall. It all raced passed her with blinding speed in a mix of blurred lights and colors. She'd never moved so fast in her life. Rieka watched as she moved closer and closer to the large building she assumed was Ostrythe's palace and the smaller round building.
Closer to her fate.
Before long the train stopped at an open station next to the round building she quickly realized was what Gunnolf had called the Temple of Udolf. The streets around them were brightly lit but empty. The only sound came from the muffled cheers of people in the Temple.
"This way," Gunnolf said. They followed him into the temple and down a long hall to another room where they were met by three more women. "These are the Faemne from the village. I'll leave them to you."
"I'll see you after the Dance, Gunnolf?" One of the women said winking at him.
Gunnolf's eyes gleamed at the invitation. "After my shift, I'm all yours, lovette." He gave the girls one last farewell wave and left.
"Welcome, dear Faemne," the women greeted them. "Please allow us to prepare you for the pairing ceremony." Before they could react, the women raced towards them and took off their red cloaks. They spent the next ten minutes being picked and pruned by the women, who were no more eager to talk to them than the Priestesses back home. If anything, there seemed to be a hint of scorn in the eyes of these women. The final thing the women added was a long red silk scarf that they tied to their left wrists.
"Do not take off this scarf," the women warned. "It is an important part of the ceremony."
"But what IS the ceremony?" Elaine asked. The women ignored her question and led them down another long hallway and into the roaring temple.
Rieka stared down in awe from the private balcony they were brought to. All around them was a large round building with no roof that thousands of people sat around. At the center was a large dirt floor where a dozen shirtless men stood in line. Not far off was a large dais where another man in a golden robe stood, silencing the crowd around them.
"Welcome, dear Lupus Deo, to the event you have all been eagerly awaiting!" He shouted, stretching his arms with a grand flourish towards their balcony. "The ceremony where our noble Dolphus men will fight for the right to wed the Faemne; the Dance of the Dolphus!" The crowd erupted in terrifying howls and cries of excitement. The men below all looked up at them with terrifying, hungry eyes. Like an animal stalking its prey.
Rieka shuddered at their gaze, terrified and confused. Had the man said that one of those men were going to fight to marry them?!
"What's going on?!" Ivy cried her eyes wide with terror. "I thought we were marrying Ostrythe."
"I'm getting out of here!" Elaine growled, turning back towards the door. She was met by two tall men in dark grey armour holding spears. When she tried to pass them, they crossed their spears, blocking her exit. They said nothing but their message was clear: they weren't going anywhere.
Knowing that they were trapped, Rieka had no choice but to turn her attention to what was happening below. The man in the golden robe continued with his speech. "One member from each of the 12 noble houses will fight until first blood. When your blood has been shed, you're out and must leave the field immediately or risk death. The final three Dolphus will be awarded the right to marry one of the Faemne and continue their family line!" The crowd once again erupted with terrifying excitement. "Prepare yourselves, men!"
Rieka cried out in horror at what happened below. All twelve men hunched over, their bodies convulsing and twisting into weird positions. Hair erupted out of their skin until their entire body was covered. Terrible cries transformed into feverish howls as the men were replaced with giant wolves. The largest one, a dark grey wolf, seemed to look up and meet Rieka's eyes. It stared at her with a hunger that shook her to the bone. It was like he was devouring her with his eyes.
Their gaze was broken when the man in golden robes shouted, "Now, begin!"
The crowd's roars collided with the howls of the wolves into a cacophony of chaos. Rieka watched in horror as one by one wolves fell down in a bloody heap. Fur and teeth gleamed below as they fought ferociously, their moves too fast for her to follow. Before long only four wolves remained. One of them was the large grey wolf. They all stalked one another in a circle, teeth bared and snapping, their eyes quickly moving between one another.
Suddenly, the large grey wolf charged for another wolf across from him, his teeth snapping firmly on the poor wolf's throat. With one powerful shake, the smaller wolf was thrown to the side, blood dripping from his throat.
It was over.
"Follow us." The women from earlier suddenly appeared behind them. they each took hold of the other end of the silk scarf and led the girls down several flight of stairs. When they reached the bottom, they found themselves on the dais next to the golden robed man. "Welcome, lovely Faemne!" the man cried, bowing low to them. "We thank you for your willingness to come here and wed our noble men. Can we grateful people have the honor of your names?"
Ivy and Elaine stared at the wolves in front of them in horror, their faces pale and eyes wide. There was no way they would be able to speak. Rieka didn't want to either, but she feared what would happen if she didn't comply. Forcing her fear down her throat, she took a step forward and shouted, "My name is Rieka. Next to me stand Elaine and Ivy." At the sound of their names, Elaine and Ivy seemed to snap out of their trance. Ivy covered her face as more tears escaped her eyes. Elaine, realizing she was under the scrutiny of the crowd, forced a smile she had practiced in the village to her face and bowed.
The remaining three wolves stalked towards them, each one seemingly deciding on which was to be their prize as they shifted their path towards one of them. The large grey wolf didn't hesitate to move towards Rieka.
A brown wolf with dark eyes stopped before Ivy, a grey and white wolf stood in front of Elaine, and the large grey wolf came in front of Rieka. The golden robed man clapped his hands. "Congratulations to Gonzalo from House Arnou for winning the hand of Faemne Ivy!" The brown wolf shifted back into his human form, a tall and slender man with brown hair and tanned skin. He smiled shyly at Ivy and took hold of the other end of her scarf. Ivy shuddered and looked at the red scarf tied to her wrist, refusing to acknowledge what was happening.
"Congratulations to Boris of House Ulrich for winning the hand of Faemne Elaine!" The grey and white wolf returned to his human form, which was a large, muscled man with ivory skin and long silver hair. He eagerly took the other end of Elaine's scarf and pulled her closer to him. Rieka saw Elaine grimace for a second before forcing a smile to her face.
"And congratulations to Skoll of House Wolfrik for winning the hand of--" A growl louder and more terrifying than anything she'd ever heard before filled Rieka's ears. Suddenly, standing between her and the large grey wolf, Skoll, stood an even bigger wolf. His fur was as dark as night, but when he glanced back at her, Rieka noticed his eyes shined as silver as the moon. The black wolf crouched low and growled at Skoll, teeth bared and eager to pounce.
"Step back!" the golden robed man cried, pulling Rieka away from the two wolves. She glanced to the side and saw that Ivy and Elaine were also being pulled away protectively by the other men.
"What's happening?!" Rieka asked the golden robed man.
"Our king, the Udolf, seems to have taken a liking to you," the man growled, glaring at her. "He is invoking his right to challenge Skoll for the right to wed you. If he loses, Skoll will take his place as king. But if he wins--" The man stopped and looked Rieka over carefully. As if he was measuring up her worth.
"What happens if he wins?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"If the Udolf wins, you will become the wife of the king."
*****
Author's Note: So this chapter was difficult to do from start to finish. Between a family emergency, university work, and my two jobs, I just didn't have the time to write this chapter out. I'm sorry it's been so long since last update, so as an apology, I made this chapter extra long. Hope you enjoyed!